In this keynote presentation, Bob Chakravorti discusses how FinTech and big tech firms are increasing competition in the payments space. Entry into payments, often allows these non-bank providers the ability to offer loans to underserved consumers and small merchants. In the rest of the talk, Chakravorti discusses the effectiveness of...
Using random forest estimation, we identify 14 key predictors out of 190 variables with the largest predictive power for MSMR adoption and usage of digital payments. Using conditional inference trees, we study the importance of sequencing and interactions of various factors such as public sector initiatives, technological advancements, and private...
The adoption of electronic payments and their frequent use is thought of as a first step for broader financial use for traditionally unbanked individuals and merchants. The purpose of this report is to analyze the design, implementation, and efficacy of many incentives implemented by different types of stakeholders around the...
A core function of any banking system is the provision of payments. However, a greater number of non-banks are becoming part of the payments landscape. Payments can be made via fiat or crypto currencies, bank credit or deposits, or funds transfers on the books of non-bank payment providers. Most of...
Carbó, Chakravorti, and Rodriguez study the impact of lowering interchange fees on consumer and merchant adoption and usage along with bank revenues during a ten-year period in Spain using bank-level data. Using cutting-edge econometric techniques, they are able to test two-sided market model predictions about payment card pricing policies. They...
In his testimony, Bob Chakravorti elaborated on the following areas: first, the state of the economic literature on the costs and benefits of capital regulation; second, the enormous changes that we have seen post-crisis in the bank capital regulatory landscape and the ensuing changes to the quality and quantity of...
Bob Chakravorti discusses surcharging and honor-all-cards rules for payment cards. Generally, merchants charge the same price regardless of the type of payment instrument used to make purchases. In many jurisdictions, merchants are not allowed to add a surcharge for payment card transactions because of legal (some states in the U.S...
While payment card usage has increased dramatically, the stock of outstanding currency has not declined as rapidly. Amromin and Chakravorti analyze changes in cash demand for 13 advanced economies from 1988 to 2003 by separating cash into three denomination categories to disentangle its store of wealth and payment functions. Defining...
The key questions that Chakravorti asks in this book chapter are: (1) How is the payment system evolving? (2) What are the economic forces driving the adoption of new payment instruments? (3) Would recent developments in the payment system limit the central bank from conducting monetary policy? He argues that...
In this article, Chakravorti and Lubasi conclude that prepaid applications potentially provide a more cost-effective means to transfer funds when: 1) recipients of funds do not have transactions accounts; 2) disbursers of funds do not have access to the recipient’s transactions accounts, or 3) the disbursers of funds need to...